With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
….I will give glory to your name forever,
for your love for me is very great.
….You have rescued me from the depths of death. Psalm 86:12-13 NLT
John 19:38-42 (<<click here to read the passage)
It would be interesting to know what motivated Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus to do what they did. In many ways Joseph’s actions were…I want to say brave, but I’m not sure that’s the right word. To a degree, the time for heroism had passed. Yes, not just anyone could have gone to Pilate to request Jesus’ body, but from the Jewish angle, as we spoke of yesterday, the leaders’ task had been completed. Jesus was dead and that’s all they cared about…it was a done deal. So, claiming the body, took no great courage on that front.
Too, I wonder did either of them know enough of Jesus’ teachings to realize that their act was just one additional piece of God’s plan and not the culmination of it? The disciples – those closest to Him – hadn’t truly comprehended what the end result would be. So, I can’t imagine these two experts in the Law would have had much of a leg up on His closest followers.
But the thing is, they did act. When everyone else ran, when everyone else went into hiding, Joseph and Nicodemus acted. That in and of itself took courage, that everyone else had lost, despite all their arguments of staying by Jesus’ side…no matter what happened.
They may not have understood the part they played, but I would dare say that they acted not out of obligation, for they would have had none. I truly believe they acted out of love. They probably felt this was the end. But even though they never came forward to give Jesus their support when, at least from a human perspective, He needed it the most in life, they honored Him the best they could in His death.
Surely, they believed that Jesus was the Messiah – that He was God’s anointed One. Who else could have done what He did? God’s stamp of approval touched everything He had ever done. And though many of the Jewish religious leaders were blinded by their own selfish desires, at least Joseph and Nicodemus – and others maybe? – were open to the alternative that Jesus was who He claimed to be.
Like us, they were by no means perfect. And though their faith may have been small, they contributed in a way that no one else did.
Lord Jesus, we are all imperfect in our faith. We probably have faulty ideas as to what the truth really is, but You love us in spite of it all. You understand us far better than we understand ourselves. Help us to have the courage to do what we can do, no matter how behind the scenes it may be. Amen.
Nov 8th, 2021, Mon, 7:20 pm
